With Adreian Payne, right, back in the fold, Tom Izzo should have a whale of team next season. / Al Goldis/For the Lansing State Journal

Written by

Chris Vannini

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Chris Vannini is the managing editor of the Spartans blog The Only Colors. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. Read his column every Monday at here and follow Vannini on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/ “target=”_blank”>@ChrisVannini.

With Sunday’s announcement that Adreian Payne will return for his senior season, the focus has quickly turned to the expectations for 2013-14.

Most have the Spartans in the preseason top three, along with the past two national champions, Kentucky and Louisville.

MSU isn’t hiding from those expectations. Payne and Keith Appling want to avoid becoming the first four-year players under Tom Izzo to not reach a Final Four. But they’re looking for more, too.

In recent years, a feeling has developed among MSU fans that the Spartans are better when they’re under the radar, rather than when they’re praised and become “fat and sassy,” as Izzo may say.

This is because, in 2010-11, the Spartans entered the season publicly saying “national championship or bust” after back-to-back Final Four appearances. They were No. 2 in the preseason poll, but they busted — barely getting into the NCAA tournament and then losing their first game against UCLA.

There were many factors (Chris Allen and Korie Lucious getting kicked off the team, Kalin Lucas and Delvon Roe dealing with injuries), but the general belief was that the Spartans got complacent.

That belief was cemented when the 2011-12 team went from unranked in the preseason to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Sweet 16.

But over Izzo’s career, the Spartans have actually handled lofty preseason expectations quite well. Let’s take a look at all the years an Izzo team has been in the AP preseason top 10.

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■ 1998-99: MSU is preseason No. 5 and reaches the Final Four, before losing to Duke.

■ 1999-00: MSU is preseason No. 3 and wins the national championship.

■ 2000-01: MSU is preseason No. 3 and reaches the Final Four, losing to Arizona.